The role and impact of women’s influence in radicalisation and counter-radicalisation
The paper discusses some of the concerns and frameworks available for understanding and countering radicalisation in the UK. It highlights the failures to consider gender in a substantive manner within these. Secondly, the paper considers women’s involvement in three core elements of radicalisation – extreme belief, extreme belonging and extreme action. Thirdly, the paper addresses the different areas in which women are participants in countering radicalisation in the UK. Here the paper focuses on three types of programmes where women are more present: parenting, community programmes, and counter-narratives. The final conclusion is that the balancing of women’s roles and impact on radicalisation remain poorly understood, and their interactions with counter-radicalisation programmes limited by gendered and racial stereotypes.